Time Management Tips

“Lost time is never found again.”
Benjamin Franklin

Time is the biggest asset for us and we should utilize it effectively and productively. These are just some simple ideas that can save your time and help you work more effectively.

1. Utilize “productive procrastination”
Procrastination doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing if you use it to delay working on low priority tasks that may not need to be done at all. Wait until a task becomes important enough to deserve your time before you work on it.

2. Ask questions
Asking questions can be an effective tool to help keep you on track. Whenever you are unsure of what to do next, just ask yourself “What is the most valuable use of my time right now?”

3. Apply the 80/20 rule
The 80/20 rule states that 20% of your tasks account for 80% of the value in your to-do list. Some tasks have a much greater return on your investment of time and energy than others. Use prioritization to identify and focus your time on these high payoff tasks.

4. Avoid attempting to do too much
While it is good to balance important long-term projects with urgent tasks, you can take this too far. If you spread your time and energy over too many different projects, you may not be able to make meaningful progress on any of them. Good time management often requires that you focus your time on a smaller set of objectives.

5. Use your energy cycles
We all have times in our day when we feel productive and other times when we feel sluggish. Use these highs and lows to your advantage. Get complex and mentally challenging tasks done during your energy highs. During the lows, take care of low priority, routine, or non-challenging tasks.